BuzzFeed may have accomplished the nearly-impossible in journalism this week, when it arguably libeled President-elect Trump by publishing a report about his alleged Russian ties. The story has been widely panned as irresponsible journalism and even labeled “fake news.”

Although the concept of libel is poorly understood by many people, media law professors such as myself know how difficult it is to prove it in a court of law, especially when it comes to a contentious public figure like Trump who has made himself fair game for nearly any disparaging remark.